Ronnie Shaban and Lee Stoppelman – remember the names. You might see them throwing strikes out of the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen in a year or three.

Casual fans of major league baseball may not have heard of these two, but they certainly are well-known within the Cardinals organization – and in the everyday work of their pitching coach.

That would be Arthur “Ace” Adams, a Wellesley native who has been nurturing young arms for 38 years. When he’s not on the baseball trail, he resides in Longmeadow with his wife, Wendy, and their 14-year-old daughter, Abigail.

Adams does a job he loves in an organization he admires. He has been in the Cardinals system for seven years, and right now is deep into his work with Palm Beach of the high-A Florida State League.

“The Cardinals have a great pitching program – the best in baseball, I believe, with Brent Strom as coordinator,” Adams said. “Our kids learn the delivery, the mechanics of throwing, how the body should move away from the mound after a pitch.”

Adams, a student of the game and its history, says “the Cardinal Way” of doing things goes back to George Kissell, who for 69 years did every kind of managing and instructing job in the St. Louis farm system, and as a coach in the big leagues.

“We still use his fundamentals,” Adams said of Kissell, who died in 2008 at 88.

Shaban is one of Ace’s pet projects, a 33rd-round draft pick out of Virginia Tech in 2012. In college, he played more games as a designated hitter than as a pitcher, but the Cardinals see him as a reliever with a big upside.

“(He) throws 92-93 (mph) with a good breaking ball,” Adams said.

Stoppelman? Ace loves this guy, a big left-hander also drafted in 2012 out of Central Missouri State.

“Lee already has moved up – a lot of our relievers have,” Adams said, noting Stoppelman now gets regular work for San Antonio in the Double-A Texas League.

As the major league club battles for a playoff spot, it does so with a pitching staff almost totally home-grown. Veteran starters Adam Wainwright (Atlanta) and Jake Westbrook (Cleveland) came from other organizations. The other 10 pitchers were drafted and signed by the Cardinals.

At one time or another, Adams has worked with several of them. They include Carlos Martinez, who was called from Triple A last week to make an emergency start. Adams has had many opportunities to help Martinez in his development.

“Carlos is a special kid. He’s from the Dominican Republic, and they call him ‘Little Pedro.’ He throws 96-98 with great breaking stuff. He originally signed with Boston, but there was some foul-up with his contract, and after that, we got him,” Adams said.

The current Cardinals starting rotation includes three of their first-round draft picks – Lance Lynn (2008), Shelby Miller (2009) and recent callup Michael Wacha (2012), a former star at Texas A&M.

In Double A, the Cardinals have seven pitchers who moved up after opening the season with Adams.

“This organization just keeps developing ’em, and the real fun of this job comes when I turn on Sunday Night Baseball and see one of our kids pitching in the big leagues. That’s a gratifying moment, for sure,” Adams said.

Ace started in pro ball as a Cardinals draftee out of Wellesley High School in 1971. His resume includes collegiate jobs at Michigan, Brandeis, Harvard and Dartmouth. His pro career includes work in the minors for the Montreal Expos, Boston Red Sox and Florida Marlins.

All that before coming full circle, back to the Cardinals.

“I’m 61, but I’m nowhere near the oldest coach in the Florida State League,” he said. “That honor goes to Phil Regan, the guy who used to pitch for the Detroit Tigers. He’s 76, working with the St. Lucie Mets.”